Melissa McKinstry

Granada Treehouse Studio, 1846 Granada Ave, San Diego, CA 92102

June, 2013 to present

• curates the Poet Tree
• created college application workshops for high school seniors
• tutored individual students working on writing applications for college, undergraduate and graduate, and scholarships

San Diego Jewish Academy, 11860 Carmel Creek Road, San Diego, CA 92130, (858) 704-3790
Executive Director: Chaim Heller
Principal: Dr. Jeffrey Davis

June, 1998 to 2013

• chairs upper school humanities department
• leads staff inservice on rubric and portfolio assessment
• developed and co-teaches ninth and tenth grade humanities
• supervises The Roar, SDJA upper school yearbook
• served on Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) review leadership team for SDJA

San Diego Area Writing Project Fellow

• participated in Invitational Institute, Summer, 1996
• presented in San Diego and Imperial Counties on writing to grades kindergarten through university, 1996 to present
• served on Advisory Council, 1997 to present
• participated in Teacher Research Group, 1997-8
• coordinated San Ysidro School District (k-8) Staff Development Series: October, 1997 to July 1998
• coordinated Year Round Open Institute for teachers in San Diego County (k-12):
• January to July, 1998
• January to July, 1999

October, 1989 to June, 1998

• served as district writing advisor, 1994-5:
• developed and implemented district writing assessment, "Write On," for grades two, five, eight, and ten
• coordinated and led scoring sessions for grades two and ten
• served as district mentor in the area of language arts, 1995-6:
• revised and implemented second year of Write On Assessment
• advised teachers new to district
• led staff inservice on rubric and portfolio assessment
• developed and published district-wide language arts standards

participated actively in high school restructuring efforts, 1993 to 1998:

• created and implemented WriteDesign with colleague Doug Kipperman, 1994 to 1998; WriteDesign combines writing, art, graphic design, and technology for juniors and seniors; presented program to statewide Regional Occupational Program conference as integration model for academic and occupational programs.
• developed and taught ninth and tenth grade humanities in Oxford Academics program 1995 to June 1998.
• developed Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) concept and wrote Special Schools Grant with a team of colleagues, 1995.
• served on Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) review leadership team for Coronado High School; chaired Powerful Teaching and Learning focus group, 1995 to 1998.
• supervised Canvass, Coronado High School's Literary/Arts Magazine, 1990-1998.
• taught a wide range of English classes including:
  • ninth and tenth grade Oxford Academics Humanities
  • eleventh and twelfth grade Writing Workshops as part of the WriteDesign program
  • ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade college preparatory English
  • tenth grade honors English emphasizing British literature
  • eleventh grade learning disabled/ESL college preparatory English first and second grade summer school language arts enrichment